McCabe smear, a disgrace but can the State respond properly this time
WHAT has unfolded in relation to Sergeant Maurice McCabe and indeed his family in recent days is a national disgrace.
Sergeant Maurice McCabe deserves justice. That much is obvious. But how? Tell me.
Do you have any faith in the present government and the representatives of official Ireland, Tusla, the HSE, An Garda Siochana to unearth the detail behind this scandal and deliver justice for Sergeant McCabe and his family. Will we ever really know what happened and how a supposed ‘cut and paste’ error occurred and we should be pretty clear, the creditability of that particular line belongs alongside the fantasy of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
Do you have any faith in the other members of Dáil Eireann to do any different if they were in power following a snap General Election.
Regretfully I have little or no faith that justice will be found at the bottom of this mess. It is not our track-record in these matters.
That sadly seems to be par for the course in modern Ireland, in a political system which is more interested in self-preservation and self-interest than in the citizens of this country.
The sorrowful display from the political leaders over the weekend and on Monday was truly demoralising, he says, she says, he says and the rush to make political capital out of any crisis.
Is there any real leadership in the country?
Deputies Mick Wallace and Clare Daly have proven to be two of the most effective politicians at holding up a blinding light at the workings of the Department of Justice and An Garda Siochana since their election in 2011.
The reputation of a man, a married man with children was on the rocks about to be smashed into smithereens. We can’t imagine the pain and anguish that has gone on in the McCabe household in recent months.
He is absolutely right to state that he and his family do not want another private Commission of Inquiry. There are only two options open, firstly the launch of a criminal investigation and secondly the establishment of a tribunal. It will be extremely difficult to hold tribunal hearings in tandem with an ongoing criminal investigation.
Our national experience of tribunals is not healthy, they are very expensive, very protracted and ultimately the findings are published and left sit on a shelf with no satisfactory result for injured parties.
The government must offer an immediate interim payment to the McCabe family in part restitution for the trauma he has suffered at the hands of public bodies.
The government then need to take a determined course of action towards either a tribunal or a criminal investigation which tragically and shamefully should be handled by either the Garda Ombudsman or an outside police force.